JESS: FILIPINO CULTURE NIGHT

Event: Culture of the Philippines
When: 11 April 2010
Where: My apartment
Why: To celebrate the culture of the Philippines
Who: Culture Night Members - Kindy, Kelsey, Angela, Nikki, Shannon and Kelsey

For the dinner I made a big batch of sticky rice, Adobo chicken and for desert Turon.
The chicken looked sorta like this...

we ate it so fast that we didn't manage to take an actual picture of the one I made. It was sooo good. I really wasn't expecting to like it much but I loved it and I can't wait to make it again soon!

The recipe I followed was from...
http://philippinesfoodrecipes.blogspot.com/2009/05/filipino-recipe-chicken-adobo.html

and this is it:

The Chicken Adobo ingredients:

2 lb chicken pieces, cut up or whole
1 head of garlic, coarsely chopped (yes, an entire head!)
4 Tbsp soy sauce (or more to taste)
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 cups water
1/2 cup vinegar (rice vinegar or white wine vinegar work best)
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsp cooking oil

The step by step cooking process:


Put vinegar, bay leaves, pepper, soy sauce, and water in a saucepan. Cover and cook slowly about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat the cooking oil in a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan. Peel the garlic, break the cloves into chunks, and brown them over medium-low heat (about 5 minutes).
Add the chicken to the frypan and brown it over medium-high heat (about 5 minutes).
Add the broth to the frypan and simmer, partly covered, until the chicken is done (about 30 minutes). Do not let it come to a boil.
Remove the bay leaves and serve over rice.
You can substitute pork for the chicken, or mix the two. Here in the Philippines, it is the custom to marinade the meat for two days rather before simmering.

To marinate the chicken, mix in the broth and 3 of the garlic cloves after step 1, then put the chicken in a glass dish and pour the marinade over it.

After we ate our dinner I presented an extensive power point slide show about the Philippines.





after they learned about Mano Po they wanted to try it out too.


Later on Shan I tried making Turon or a fried banana desert.



Here is the recipe I used from...
http://www.opensourcefood.com/people/lealea/recipes/classic-filipino-turon

How to make Classic Filipino Turon


I was itching for something sweet at the time and I had some bananas and spring roll wrap available... :-) So simple but so tasty!

Quarter long bananas, by cutting them in half, then cut them lengthwise.
Dip them in water.
Mix a little golden brown sugar and white sugar together and sprinkle over top wet bananas.
Wrap in spring roll wrapping.
(Optional) Tap some water on spring roll and sprinkle sugar mixture over top. This will create less "clean" but sugary tops.
Deep fry until golden and transfer to paper towel on a plate to absorb oil.

They were good but I would use a lot more sugar! You can never use too much! :)



Kels really really loved them!

this one of my fav pics from the night

Greek Night: Nikki

Nik, I can't remember what the food that you made was called but it was DELICIOUS. So, put up the recipe! :)

Native American Night: Kindy

Kindy made delicious Navajo Tacos, so here is a recipe I found online:
Ingredients:

• For Navajo Fry Bread:
• 4-5 Cups flour
• 1/2 Cup instant milk
• 3-1/2 tsp Baking powder
• 2 Cups water
• 1 tsp Salt

Filling:
• 1-1/2 lbs Ground beef
• 1 Can pinto beans
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 3/4 tsp Garlic salt

For Toppings:
• Grated cheese
• Onions
• Salsa
• Lettuce
•
• Oil for frying

How to make Navajo Tacos:
• Take a bowl and mix ingredients to make fry bread.
• Pour water and stir well.
• Knead the dough lightly, cover and keep aside for about 15 minutes.
• Heat one inch vegetable oil in a 10 inches skillet.
• Pinch off dough in small amounts and pat the dough into thin 8 inches circles.
• Fry them in the hot oil until brown on both sides.
• Now drain on paper towels.
• To make filling heat oil and fry ground beef and onion until brown, drain.
• Add beans and garlic salt with it.
• Simmer for about 10 to15 minutes.
• To serve, spoon filling onto the fry bread.
• Top with grated cheeses, lettuce, onion and salsa

Jerusalem Night: Jessica

Jessica hosted Jerusalem Night, and we played Ticket to Ride.
Jess, if you have recipes or fun facts from Jerusalem, post them!

French Night: Jess and Kelsey

French Night begins our journey into the lands of many cultures. Kindy made crepes, and we all had French names (if you can remember yours, post it as a comment) and watched Passport to Paris.

Crepe Recipe:
Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted


Directions
1.In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.
2.Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.
3.Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot.